In 1827 the French gained control of the Muslim state know as Algiers. Algiers was one of the four Muslim states that made up the so-called Barbary States. The term "Barbary" means "of the Berbers", a people of North Africa who had converted to Islam during the 600s. Barbary pirates operated off the coast of North Africa. The operations of the Barbary pirates gave the French an excuse to intervene in Algiers. A French representative went to the governor of Algiers, commonly referred to as the bey, to discuss these operations. Allegedly the governor insulted the representative by striking him with a flyswatter. By 1830 a French force occupied the city of Algiers.
The French gained control over Tunis in a much more inconspicuous way. They did it by gaining Tunis" trust. When the French gained control over Algiers, Tunis was happy about it because Algiers had been trying to assert its influence over Tunis. They bey of Tunis accepted military advice from French advisers and allowed economic assistance to flow from French Banks. He then imposed higher taxes to pay back the French banks. By 1869, Tunis was bankrupt. A financial commission was then established to restore order and to reorganize Tunis's finances. The French was to have a free hand in Tunis. In 1881 France completed the process of exerting its control over Tunis by finding a weak excuse to stage military action. The result was a protectorate in which the bey remained the ruler in name, but the senior French official in Tunis wielded the power. .